Wash Your Car by Hand

Prep and lather

Spray the entire vehicle with water to rinse away surface dirt to give your vehicle a good coating of water. Pay attention to all the cracks and crevices and make sure you cover the entire vehicle.

Prepare two buckets of water – one without soap and one with soap. Use a cleaning solution that’s specific to cars as a household cleaner could strip wax off the paint or damage the finish. A professional car cleaning solution will also allow the water to sheet and bead off, making the drying process quicker and reducing the likelihood of water spots.

When you’re filling the buckets, follow the instructions on the cleaner so you use the right amount of solution. You’ll use the soapy bucket to lather up your mitt or chamois with soap for the car and the bucket of water will be used to rinse dirt and debris from the mitt after you’re done cleaning each area. It’s important that the cleaning mitt is free of dirt or else it can scratch the paint as you clean. You want to work your way down as you wash the car and clean it in sections. Start with the roof.

Use the mitt to make one swipe, flip it over to swipe again, then rinse it. Don’t try to scrub or rub off the dirt. As you finish each section, give that area a rinse so soap doesn’t just sit there. Clean the back of the car last, as this is an area with a lot of dirt.

If during the cleaning, the mitt falls on the ground, rinse it very thoroughly before even considering using it on the car. Dirt and gravel could have gotten lodged into the mitt in the fall and you don’t want to be rubbing that into the car’s surface.